CFVI Joins Nationwide Humanities Initiative
Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands Joins Nationwide Humanities Initiative: By the People: Conversations Beyond 250
As the Humanities Council of the Virgin Islands (HCVI), Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands (CFVI) will participate in By the People: Conversations Beyond 250, a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils across the United States, its territories, and the District of Columbia in collaboration with local partners. Together, these programs explore 250 years of the nation's cultural life and imagine its shared future. The initiative was developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (the Center), which also produces the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C.
As part of its participation in By the People, CFVI will host “Voices of the USVI: Dialogue and Discovery,” a two-day conference designed to bring together humanities organizations, culture bearers, artists, and community leaders from across the Virgin Islands.
Taking place at the University of the Virgin Islands on St. Thomas on March 19 and 20, 2026, the conference will feature a public keynote open to the community, networking opportunities, and a youth-elder dialogue circle, designed to foster intergenerational exchange and perspectives. Additional sessions for invited participants will feature a dance/movement lab with traditional dancers, an agriculture roundtable and an interactive workshop where participants collaborate on and discuss festival designs.
CFVI supports humanities programming through grantmaking, community engagement, advocacy, and capacity-building efforts that strengthen social cohesion and deepen a shared sense of belonging across the territory.
“Through our participation in By the People, we’re creating space for community leaders to network, collaborate, and generate new ideas,” said Dee Baecher-Brown, president of CFVI. “These conversations will not only celebrate the vibrant culture and humanities programming here in the USVI, but also elevate all Virgin Islands voices – from across generations – in thinking about how we can protect the future of these essential programs.”
All U.S. humanities councils were invited to take part in By the People, and fifty-one councils—including those from the District of Columbia and four U.S. territories—will participate in local programs designed to foster intergenerational dialogue and highlight culture bearers. These include musicians, artists, performers, poets, craftspeople, workers, cooks, storytellers, and others who will explore the following themes: remembering together, harmonizing together, moving together, and building together.
“This partnership amplifies the voices from communities nationwide and the cultural practices that define them,” says Phoebe Stein, the Federation’s president. “It’s a celebration of the humanities as a living, breathing force in our country—one that has brought people together to listen, learn, and create since the nation’s earliest days.”
Through this initiative, CFVI reaffirms its commitment to uplifting the voices, traditions, and stories that make the Virgin Islands unique — ensuring they are not only preserved, but actively shared and celebrated as part of the nation’s cultural fabric.
For more information on CFVI and its work in the humanities, including with the Humanities Council of the Virgin Islands, visit, www.cfvi.net/HCVI.
Learn more about the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage’s website at www.statehumanities.org/bythepeople.